See the White

Take a good look at the image above.

What do you see?

A black dot--

That's what everyone says

But what did you not see?

The white. In fact, there is actually more white than there is black.

How did we miss it?

Perhaps we can relate this black dot to our flaws, imperfections, and even sins.

Unfortunately, the black dots in our lives are often all we can see.

But what does God see?

Elder Klebingat of the Seventy asked:

"Can you say within yourself that Heavenly Father is pleased with you? What thoughts come to mind if you had a personal interview with the Savior one minute from now? Would sins, regrets, and shortcomings dominate your self-image, or would you simply experience joyful anticipation? Would you meet or avoid his gaze? Would you linger by the door or confidently walk up to Him?" 1

After reading this, did your thoughts include feelings that God is disappointed or ashamed of you? Did you start to look at the black dots in your life?

The truth is, we can be hard on ourselves. Many times we have unkind thoughts that overwhelm and discourage us.

Take a minute and think of the last positive thought you had about yourself
Did you find this difficult to do?

Sister Joy D. Jones said: 

"How many of us struggle, from time to time, with negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves? I do. It's an easy trap. Satan is the father of all lies, especially when it comes to misrepresentations about our own divine nature and purpose. Thinking small about ourselves does not serve us well. Instead it holds us back.

Let me point out the need to differentiate between two critical words: worth and worthiness. They are not the same.

Spiritual worth means to value ourselves the way Heavenly Father values us, not as the world values us. Our worth was determined before we ever came to this earth. 'God's love is infinite and it will endure forever.' 

On the other hand, worthiness is achieved through obedience. If we sin, we are less worthy, but we are never worth less! WE continue to repent and strive to be like Jesus with our worth intact. As President Brigham Young taught: 'The least, the most inferior spirit now upon the earth ...is worth worlds.' NO matter what, we always have worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.'" 2

See the white.

See yourself as God does
This can be hard to do, so what are some things can we do?

• Ask for a priesthood blessing
• Review your patriarchal blessing
• Be patient with yourself
• Pray to see yourself as God does
• Listen to uplifting music
• Focus on what you do right, and avoid comparing yourself to others
• Talk positively to yourself, talk back to negative thinking
• List negative thoughts from today on paper, then rewrite them to be more hopeful, truthful, and encouraging
• Take a break 
• Meditate, stretch, take a walk, sit and think peacefully
• Be kind to yourself
• Talk to yourself with the same kind, comforting words you would use with someone else. Know the Lord understands. Imagine Him sitting close to you, listening and offering support. Remember, thoughts of helplessness, hopelessness, or harsh condemnation are not from the Lord.

Do you know how much good you do?

We can compare our good works to an apple.

If we were to cut open an apple, we would be able to count the number of seeds it contains. But we can't see how many apples will come from just one seed.

We may only be able to see the seeds we plant, but we might never know how many more apples were grown from those seeds as a result.

In other words, we may never know how much good we do. 

Gordon B. Hinkley said:

"Many of you think you are failures. You feel you cannot do well, that with all of your effort it is not sufficient. We all feel that way. We all worry about our performance. We all wish we could do better. But unfortunately we do not realize, we do not often see the results that come of what we do." 3

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How can the atonement of Jesus Christ help us to feel our worth?

We can find comfort in these truths:

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto Him." 4

Sister Joy D. Jones said:

"Because of what He did for us, 'we are bound to him by loving ties.' If the love we feel for the Savior and what He did for us is greater than the energy we give to weaknesses, self-doubts, or bad habits, then He will help us overcome the things cause suffering in our lives. He saves us from ourselves." 2

To the women, Gordon B. Hinkley shares:

"To you young women with small children, yours is a tremendous challenge. So often there is not enough money. You must scrimp and save. You must be wise and careful in your expenditures. You must be strong and bold and brave and march forward with gladness in your eye and love in your heart. How blessed you are, my dear young mothers. You have children who will be yours forever. May you be given strength to carry your heavy load, to meet every obligation, to walk side by side with a good and faithful and caring man, and together with him rear and nurture and bring up your children in righteousness of truth. Nothing else will ever own, no worldly thinking you will ever acquire will be worth so much has the love of your children. God bless you, my dear, dear young mothers.

Now I speak to you single mothers whose burdens are so heavy because you have been abandoned or have been widowed. Yours is a terrible load. Bear it well. Seek the blessings of the Lord. Be grateful for any assistance that may come out of the quorums of the priesthood to help you in your home or with other matters. Pray silently in your closet, and let the tears flow if they must come. But put a smile on your face whenever you are before your children or other. 

Now to you dear grandmothers, you older widows and older lonely women. How beautiful you are. I look upon my dear wife, soon to be 92 years of age. Her hair is white; her frame is stooped. I take one of her hands in mine and look at it. Once it was so beautiful, the flesh firm and clear. Now it is wrinkled and a little bony and not very strong. But it speaks of love and constancy and faith, of hard work through the years. Her memory is not what it once was. She can remember things that happened half a century ago but may not remember what happened half an hour ago. I am like that, too. But I am so grateful for her. My dear friends of the Relief Society, whatever your circumstances, wherever you may life, may the windows of heaven be opened and blessings come down upon you. May you live with love one for another. May you reach down to lift up those whose burdens are heavy. May you bring light and beauty to the world." 3

Being a disciple of Christ doesn't mean we need to be perfect.
But we are striving to become so as we walk with our master Jesus Christ. 5

Practice seeing yourself as the Lord does

See the white

1. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/approaching-the-throne-of-god-with-confidence?lang=eng2. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/10/value-beyond-measure?lang=eng3. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2003/10/to-the-women-of-the-church?lang=eng4. D&C 18:10-115. 2nd Nephi 4